Q & A

The validity of nude photography — and art in general — within society is a hotly-debated topic, often drawing ire from the art community and condemnation from the religious. Even within the photographic community there is great debate over whether nudity can be presented in tasteful fashion or if, at its core, there resides an underlying nature of depravity. Photographer Beau Hooker tackles a portion of the argument over at Photo.net:

If one Googles the definition of “pornography,” the first definition that pops up is: any sexually explicit writing and/or picture intended to arouse sexual desire.

Well, I have a small problem with that definition, and I’ll explain. (more…)

Q:What flash would you recommend for my new Canon Rebel? I have always made these crazy wax paper deflectors/reflectors which work with my old point and shoot camera (and would with this camera, too), but since I can now mount a flash on this camera I’d like to:) Jump to quick answer.

A: Well, there are a variety of options when it comes to external flashes. First off, you can go with one that’s completely manual or one that is TTL/e-TTL capable (translated as “through the lens,” meaning that the flash automatically calculates the light needed for the scene and adjusts the output without you having to fiddle with settings).

Beyond that, you can choose by band/manufacturer. Canon has some really great speedlights out there, such as the 480EX II and the 580EX II However, these can be rather expensive options (especially the 580EX) for the budding or budget-conscious photographer. In this case, there are a variety of third-party options from which to choose. (more…)

Q:I’m looking to buy a camera, and I like the Fuji X-S1 model. Do you think Fuji is the way to go?

My first SLR was a ’70s-era Fujica (I miss that camera!), and I used to use an S2 Pro, but I am by no means a Fuji expert.

I like some of what I see in the X-S1, but there are a few points I don’t like, such as having the bulk of an SLR without the benefit of interchangeable lenses. Plus, it’s more of a standalone camera as opposed to an industry standard, so accessories (such as a cable release or TTL flash) would have to be purchased specifically for the X-S1 which means a bit higher cost without the option of buying third-party or using them elsewhere. (more…)

Q:I am looking at buying a wide-angle lens for my Nikon D5000. Is this (pictured below) what I would be looking for…or is it junk? It’s only $59!

This particular “lens” is simply an attachment that you screw onto the end of an existing lens. The 52mm, in this case, refers to the diameter of the lens on which you would attach it…in other words, it only fits on lenses with a diameter of 52mm.

Personally, I own one almost identical to this (it came with an eBay purchase way back), and it’s pure crap. Instead of actually being a true lens, it’s basically a wicked thick filter that simply distorts light. When playing around with it, some of the problems I experienced with it were:

Exaggerated distortion along the edges

Images were extremely fuzzy and hazy

Horrible lens flare

Images were generally out of focus

God-awful chromatic aberration, etc.

You can find wicked cheap lenses on eBay (along with expensive ones), but generally the cheaper lenses tend to be made by overseas third-party manufacturers and are of poor build quality with less-than-pristine glass. I wouldn’t recommend going that route. You’re looking at a minimum of several hundred dollars for a semi-decent wide-angle lens with prices going up into the thousands for something of high quality.

You may want to check out lenses at B&H Photo. They are pretty good about keeping their selection to quality lenses (versus places like eBay where people are trying to pawn anything and everything, whether it’s quality or not), so I sometimes just window-shop there and buy the lens I want elsewhere if I find a better price. B&H‘s search features allow you to narrow down the selection to show only those lenses available for a specific make of camera (e.g. Nikon, Canon), lenses with a specific focal distance, etc., which helps a lot.

I know Sigma has a few wide-angle offerings in the lower budget range as well as Bower, Rokinon, and a few other manufacturers.

JUST A NOTE: Anytime I’m looking at new equipment I read a million reviews, both on the seller sites as well as photography equipment review sites and forums. While seller sites are great to see what others’ experiences have been after purchasing an item, photography blogs, discussion forums, and equipment review sites can provide invaluable insight into why somebody did not purchase a particular piece of gear.

For those becoming interested in photography, “strobism,” or artificial lighting, can sometimes be a daunting prospect. I recently received an email from a frustrated reader who was trying to set up a small studio and was having some issues with getting the lighting correct.

I’m trying to set up a small area for indoor photos to shoot my nieces, nephews, etc. I am a big fan of outdoor photography…inside scares me!

I have a roll of white seamless paper, and I bought two strobe lights with umbrellas from Cowboy Studios (not expensive lights). I am frustrated and on the verge of tears with trying to figure it out. I’m trying to get more comfortable in the Manual Mode and admit it intimidates me in a big way. I have the shutter speed set at 1/125 and F 6.3. My meter shows that it would be way underexposed at that setting, but going lower in shutter speed makes it blurry. I have it at ISO 100. I’m having issues with light placement, too. In one of your tutorials you have the lights each coming in from the side of the subject. I’m getting horrible shadows with that arrangement. It’s a bit better with the lights right behind me shooting towards the subject, but still some shadows. Any words of advice?

1. Check Your Camera Settings

Most of my artificially-lit indoor work is shot at ISO 400 and occasionally ISO 200, depending on how much light I have going on and the desired effect. Unless you’re blasting away with high-powered lights or shooting outdoors with fill flash, ISO 100 is probably too low of a setting.

For shutter speed, 1/125 is pretty good, but feel free to adjust as needed, or simply play around with it to see the full range of control and effects that different shutter speeds can produce.

And don’t be afraid to open up your aperture a bit more if needed. A shallower depth of field can work wonders in portrait photography while allowing more light to enter the camera.

2. Evaluate Your Lights

Your strobe slaves are probably a large part of your problem. Granted, there are a variety of slaves on the market, but pretty much all of them are very weak, with many of them being extremely weak. You may want to consider upgrading to something more powerful, like speedlights or monoblocks.

JUST A NOTE: Even one or two lights would work for simple portraiture, depending on the desired lighting effect…don’t think you need a full array of lights to accomplish some good results.

3. Watch Light Placement

A pretty standard placement is to have them positioned above the subject with the stands at a 45-degree angle to the subject and the lights tilted down at a 45-degree angle. This generally provides good, even lighting. However, this can result in some pretty generic images, so feel free to experiment with placement for different effects. For instance, some of my recent self-portraiture work (posted on Facebook and Flickr) has two umbrellas pointed straight towards each other at head level with the subject (me) standing in between.

JUST A NOTE: If light placement alone does not eliminate shadows, take inventory of your lighting modifiers (umbrellas, softboxes, etc.) and their size, your camera settings, and the power of the lights you’re using.

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